FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.28

मन्ये त्वां कालमीशानमनादिनिधनं विभुम् । समं चरन्तं सर्वत्र भूतानां यन्मिथ: कलि: ॥ २८ ॥
manye tvāṁ kālam īśānam
[manye tvaam kaalam eeshaanam]
anādi-nidhanaṁ vibhum
[anaadi-nidhanam vibhum]
samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra
[samam charantam sarvatra]
bhūtānāṁ yan mithaḥ kaliḥ
[bhootaanaam yan mithah kalih]
manye — I consider tvām — Your Lordship kālam — the eternal time īśānam — the Supreme Lord anādi-nidhanam — without beginning and end vibhum — all-pervading samam — equally merciful carantam — distributing sarvatra — everywhere bhūtānām — of the living beings yat mithaḥ — by intercourse kaliḥ — dissension.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
manye tvāṁ kālam īśānam
manye
I consider
tvām
Your Lordship
kālam
the eternal time
īśānam
the Supreme Lord
anādi-nidhanaṁ vibhum
anādi-nidhanam
without beginning and end
vibhum
all-pervading
samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra
samam
equally merciful
carantam
distributing
sarvatra
everywhere
bhūtānāṁ yan mithaḥ kaliḥ
bhūtānām
of the living beings
yat mithaḥ
by intercourse
kaliḥ
dissension.
My Lord, I consider Your Lordship to be eternal time, the supreme controller, without beginning and end, the all-pervasive one. In distributing Your mercy, You are equal to everyone. The dissensions between living beings are due to social intercourse.

Kuntīdevī knew that Kṛṣṇa was neither her nephew nor an ordinary family member of her paternal house. She knew perfectly well that Kṛṣṇa is the primeval Lord who lives in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, Paramātmā. Another name of the Paramātmā feature of the Lord is kāla, or eternal time. Eternal time is the witness of all our actions, good and bad, and thus resultant reactions are destined by Him. It is no use saying that we do not know why and for what we are suffering. We may forget the misdeed for which we may suffer at this present moment, but we must remember that Paramātmā is our constant companion, and therefore He knows everything, past, present and future. And because the Paramātmā feature of Lord Kṛṣṇa destines all actions and reactions, He is the supreme controller also. Without His sanction not a blade of grass can move. The living beings are given as much freedom as they deserve, and misuse of that freedom is the cause of suffering. The devotees of the Lord do not misuse their freedom, and therefore they are the good sons of the Lord. Others, who misuse freedom, are put into miseries destined by the eternal kāla. The kāla offers the conditioned souls both happiness and miseries. It is all predestined by eternal time. As we have miseries uncalled-for, so we may have happiness also without being asked, for they are all predestined by kāla. No one is therefore either an enemy or friend of the Lord. Everyone is suffering and enjoying the result of his own destiny. This destiny is made by the living beings in course of social intercourse. Everyone here wants to lord it over the material nature, and thus everyone creates his own destiny under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. He is all-pervading and therefore He can see everyone’s activities. And because the Lord has no beginning or end, He is known also as the eternal time, kāla.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
I consider you to be destroyer of the offenders, the controller, without beginning or end, the most powerful, equal to all, moving everywhere in all living beings, and the abode of conflicting qualities.
Commentary

This verse describes the Lord’s destruction (kālam) of those who offend his devotees. You are not unjust (samam) because you show attachment to the devotee, indifference to matter, assistance to some and destruction to others. Yad mithaḥ kaliḥ means “in whom there is conflict because the Lord gives suffering and bliss, he is equal and prejudiced, is unmerciful and merciful.”

You are eternal time, the supreme controller without beginning or end, equal to all. Inequalities are social inventions; from the Lord's vantage, all souls are equal.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom do I treat as 'less' that the Lord treats as equal?
  • Where could I borrow His view to dismantle my own ranking?
📝 My note

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